McCaskill Adjusts for a Solid Outing

Forgetting the bases-loaded threats he defused and the constant tension he faced, Kirk McCaskill downplayed his contribution to the Angels’ 7-4 victory over the Twins Wednesday.

“Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while,” he said with typical self-deprecating humor.

McCaskill (9-15) and the Angels have found victories difficult to come by. The right-hander’s five-inning, eight-hit effort brought him only his third triumph in the past two months and helped the Angels to their third victory in 14 games. Minor adjustments in his delivery helped McCaskill get his curveball over for strikes, a major improvement over recent performances.

“I tried to wipe the slate clean and start over,” said McCaskill, who is four losses from tying the club record of 19. “I’m just trying to enjoy the game again. I never dreaded going out there--I always felt good about going out there and thought I could win. But once I got out there I wasn’t winning, and it progressed and became a spiral.”

He escaped that downward spiral in the third inning Wednesday. The Twins loaded the bases on a single, a walk and an error, but Greg Gagne grounded into a force play and Al Newman grounded to short.

Former Angel Chili Davis hit a two-run double in the third, giving Minnesota a 2-1 lead, but the Angels came back with two runs in the fourth and two in the fifth.

McCaskill survived another bases-loaded threat in the fifth when Brian Harper flied to shallow center and Mike Pagliarulo hit a grounder to second.

“The thing that has probably hurt him up to this point is he’s been inconsistent with his curveball,” catcher Lance Parrish said. “That’s a real good pitch for him, but if he doesn’t throw it for strikes, it makes no sense for him to throw it. He’s not a power pitcher, so he can’t just throw his fastball by people.

“This is the McCaskill I was used to seeing the first year I came here (1989). He was throwing it over for strikes. He needs to do that to be a complete pitcher.”

McCaskill had no shot at a complete game. Although he threw only 91 pitches through five innings and wanted to go longer, Manager Doug Rader pulled him.

“Kirk had to pitch out of some extremely tough situations,” Rader said, “and we feel pitching under duress (is the equivalent of) pitching far above the actual number of pitches he threw.”

As long as the Angels won, McCaskill didn’t mind leaving early. Nor did he mind sharing the credit.